Pārasīka-barbara-yavana-raumakâdi-bhāṣāsu … versus Kambojeṣu – Kumārila-bhaṭṭa on (very foreign) languages

The tradition of Vedic ritual exegesis which evolved into the philosophical school of Mīmāṃsā focused on the problems of the language of Vedas, especially in its deontic aspect related to dharma, i.e. ritual duty. As a result, it also developed some general linguistic theses and tried to accommodate in its analyses the phenomenon of the existence of other, not Sanskrit, languages. This is apparent in the works of Kumārila-bhaṭṭa (6-7th C.E.), one of the most important Mīmāṃsā authors. In his commentary Tantra-vārttika (1.3.8-10), in the course of typical argumentative exchange, he looks at three different categories of foreigners and their languages. This article follows his line of reasoning, pointing out the possible textual and socio-geographical factors shaping this linguistic differentiation.